New York and Schumer are the poor losers, not Texas

Regarding the lack of a retired shuttle coming to Houston, New York Senator Charles Schumer told the New York Daily News, “When people from Paris, Beijing, Tokyo and Amsterdam start saying they want to go to Houston, maybe then they’ll get a shuttle. I’d say to Texas, don’t mess with New York.” The reporter also described congressional members from Texas as “poor-loser Texans.”

Well, Senator Schumer, let’s take a look at who is losing what.

Since this discussion begins with a space shuttle, what city is home to NASA? Due to the leadership of then Vice-President Texan Lyndon B Johnson, Houston has NASA, not New York City.

But okay, that WAS almost 50 years ago.

However if New York is so superior to Texas today, why are people coming to Texas in droves while New York is barely maintaining its population? According to the 2010 Census count (see the interactive file on the Hobby Center for Public Policy’s homepage), the state of New York grew a mere 2% while Texas grew by 21%. Texas has a population of 25,145,561 and New York has 19,378,102.

What do these numbers mean? More political power now resides in Texas with more congressional seats and electoral votes. Texas gained 4 seats – we now have 36 seats – while New York lost 2 seats and now has only 27 seats.

When considering national political power, New York and Senator Schumer appear to be the losers.

Just why are people coming to Texas instead of New York? Let’s make a quick comparison of Houston and New York City, the largest cities in their respective states.

Personal economic future

According to a recent poll conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, 44% of New York City residents believe their personal family finances will get better in the next year. Dr. Stephen Klineberg notes in the 2011 Houston Area Survey that 52% of Houstonians think they will be better off three or four years from now. While the period of time included in the surveys are somewhat different, Houstonians appear to be more positive about their economic future.

City satisfaction

Both Houston and New York City have satisfied residents yet Houston ranks higher. The 2011 Houston Area Survey finds that 90% of Houstonians think this region is a slightly or much “better place” in which to live in comparison with most other urban areas. According to the Marist poll completed in October 2010, 84% of New Yorkers are satisfied living in New York City.

City optimism

Gallup surveys find Houstonians are more optimistic. In 2009, city optimism was at 58.3% in the Houston region and at 50.4% in the New York City region. In 2010, Houston’s optimism rate grows to 59.8% while New York’s rate slightly decreases to 50.2%

Mayoral job approval

While I am tempted to say we have Mayor Annise Parker and they have Mayor Michael Bloomberg and leave it at that, let’s compare what the residents think about their mayor.

When the Marist poll asked about Mayor Bloomberg’s job performance last September, his ratings were 11% excellent, 38% good, 31% fair and 18% poor. During this same time period, Rice University’s Center for Civic Engagement poll found that 14% of the respondents rated Mayor Parker’s performance as excellent, 42% good, 27%fair and 6% poor. In other words, 56% of Houstonians rated their mayor as good or better while only 49% of the New Yorkers said the same.

More recent polls on Mayor Bloomberg’s job approval have found his favorable ratings declining since the September snapshot. No recent ratings of Mayor Parker were readily found.

To Senator Schumer

In consideration of all of the factors discussed, I say to Senator Schumer, don’t mess with Texas.

More pointedly, I agree with Dr. Klineberg’s recent comment that “Houston is where the American future is going to be worked out.” After all, New York City is so 20th century – just fugheddaboutit.